“While helicopters are invaluable for their range and payload capabilities, drones complement these assets by offering quicker, more cost-effective deployment,” Skydio, one of the largest U.S. drone manufacturers, told FLYING. “Their ability to operate in challenging conditions—including wind and rain—and their capacity for remote operation from anywhere via a web browser enhances the overall safety and efficiency of the response efforts, ensuring broader and more flexible coverage.”

Since shuttering its consumer drone business to focus on selling to enterprise and public safety customers last year, Skydio has assisted operators with plenty of disaster response and recovery efforts. Even before then, the company said it provided assistance following Hurricane Ian in 2022.

“Skydio team members—many of whom live in the communities their customers serve—closely monitor developing situations such as these, proactively deploying resources to impacted areas and supporting on the ground and in real time,” the company said.

In the wake of Helene, Skydio customers are deploying drones for search and rescue, overwatch, and damage assessment. Since the storm damaged many bridges in the most affected areas, for example, customers are using drone inspections to create digital twins, helping them assess safety and accelerate the repair process.

The company said it surged available personnel, remote connectivity systems, and its X10 and X10D drone models—equipped with spotlight attachments—to regions most in need, including the Florida Panhandle and western North Carolina.

Skydio has been working with local, state, and federal agencies to prepare for and respond to Helene, including the city of Tampa, Punta Gorda Police Department, and Southern Company.

Southern Company, an electric and gas utility provider, enlisted Skydio drones to perform damage assessments with “unprecedented speed and efficiency,” per Jonathan Tinch, an uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) pilot and safety coordinator for the company.

The aircraft collected high-resolution images and real-time video of the damage, transmitting them to a command center. There, they were analyzed by experts who directed ground crews to the areas most in need of repair.

“As a result, we were able to restore power to our customers more quickly than ever before,” said Tinch.

As another major hurricane approaches, Skydio said it will offer further support.

“After what we saw in Asheville and the impact of drones there, we have doubled our efforts to support agencies responding to Milton,” Skydio told FLYING. “We have a team of people holed up in an Airbnb in northern Florida poised to be on the ground in the Tampa area the minute the storm clears and it is safe to travel.”

Also assisting with post-Helene recovery efforts are pilots, engineers, and scientists from Mississippi State University’s (MSU) Raspet Flight Research Laboratory.

Raspet, backed by Project JUSTICE—a program within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate designed to learn about uncrewed systems by sending them on real-world missions—is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) with a massive UAS called Teros.

Built by Navmar Applied Sciences Corporation, Teros has a 44-foot wingspan and can remain aloft for 20 hours, allowing it to perform long-duration missions. Raspet deployed to Georgia on September 29 to assess post-hurricane flooding.

“Once a hurricane has passed over an inland area, the water it leaves behind is constantly moving, and that movement can be difficult to predict, especially in places where trees and other barriers might obscure water from satellite imagery,” said Jamie Dyer, a geosciences professor at Mississippi State and associate director of the university’s Northern Gulf Institute (NGI).

NGI experts tracked Helene through the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee. Using Teros’ sensors and cameras, they collected real-time data and visuals on the movement of floodwaters, beaming it to federal entities like FEMA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“UAS allow us to see in better detail where water is going and which areas will be impacted by flooding, which is vital information to have during a crisis event,” said Dyer. “Additionally, the data we collect will improve the river forecasting models that local, state and federal officials rely on.”

State officials with the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Division of Aviation have also deployed drones to survey roads, bridges, and other infrastructure, flying more than 200 missions in the past week alone.

Over at NOAA, meanwhile, “hurricane hunters” are flying a pair of Lockheed WP-3Ds and a Gulfstream IV-SP—affectionately nicknamed “Kermit,” “Miss Piggy,” and “Gonzo”—directly into the eye of Hurricane Milton. Some of these missions will deploy Blackswift S0 UAS to measure temperature, pressure, wind, and humidity, which can help predict a storm’s path.

The FAA advises individual drone users or hobbyists to be mindful of temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) in place around hurricane-affected regions. Pilots who neglect to coordinate with local emergency services could inadvertently hinder their efforts, so noncommercial operators should exercise caution.

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December 11 is the submission deadline for Stage 1 of GoAERO—a three-year contest backed by NASA, Boeing, RTX, and other key aviation stakeholders seeking to aid the estimated 4.5 million Americans living in “ambulance deserts,” who may need to wait longer than 25 minutes for emergency services to arrive. The aircraft created by competitors could rescue people in danger and respond to disasters, medical emergencies, or humanitarian crises.

Officially launched on February 5, GoAERO (Aerial Emergency Response Operations) has been recruiting teams of university students who lack the financial backing of large corporations. But the competition is open to just about anyone over the age of 18, GoAERO founder and CEO Gwen Lighter told FLYING.

“It is a call for engineers and entrepreneurs and innovators and universities and students and professors and retirees and businesses and corporations and all of that to join us and to create these emergency response fliers,” said Lighter.

Lighter envisions GoAERO’s emergency response flyers as “another tool in the first response toolkit.” Helicopters, she said, are great for emergency response but are expensive to procure and operate, require a pilot, and struggle to operate in tight spaces.

Drones, at the other end of the spectrum, are excellent for delivering medical supplies. Drone delivery companies Zipline and Wing, for instance, have collectively transported hundreds of thousands of shipments of blood, vaccines, and equipment. But when it comes to search and rescue, drones can only complete the latter portion of the mission.

“What we are doing is we are saying, ‘OK, helicopters are one end of the spectrum, drones are the other,’ and then putting them together, molding them into something that can deliver a first responder to someone in need, rescue someone who needs help, deliver needed goods and supplies, all within the rubric of natural disasters, everyday medical emergencies, events caused by climate change, humanitarian crises,” Lighter said.

The aircraft are intended to be simple, compact, and uncrewed, flying either entirely on their own or with help from a remote pilot. They must also be easily transportable, deployable within minutes, and capable of delivering first responders, patients, or supplies in cities, rural areas, and disaster zones.

Aviation for Public Good

Lighter previously organized GoAERO’s predecessor GoFLY, which similarly sought to put groundbreaking technology into the hands of people who otherwise would not have access. But whereas GoFLY was geared toward personal, recreational flight, GoAERO is about helping others.

“GoAERO is really focused on a singular mission, which is saving lives,” Lighter said. “It is aviation for public good.”

According to Lighter, all GoFLY partners have signed on to the new initiative, and even more have joined. Boeing is the lead GoAERO sponsor, but the contest is also backed by RTX, Honeywell, Iridium, and industry groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS). First responders, aviation regulators, and other organizations are on board.

“We’ve had hundreds of discussions with not only aviation [firms], but first responders in a wide variety of different types of response, whether that is search and rescue, whether that is wildfire, whether that is earthquake, whether that is everyday medical emergencies and EMTs,” said Lighter.

She added: “Collectively, we have landed on these technical rules and specifications to create aircraft that really allow first responders to be first responders, rather than pilots and all of these other things.”

GoAERO will provide teams with some design guidelines. But Lighter told FLYING that the goal is for participants to produce a wide range of designs. Teams will be permitted to focus on medical needs and disaster scenarios specific to their area, for example.

“Success for us looks like in three years, at the end of the competition, that we have a multitude of different flyers that show up, and some are better in everyday medical emergencies, and some are better in urban environments, and some are better in remote environments, and some are better in wildfires,” said Lighter.

Participants will have some help from above. The competition offers what Lighter called a “full education platform,” with educational webinars, legal assistance, and one-on-one mentorship opportunities with experts from Boeing, U.S. government agencies such as the FAA or Department of Defense, and other mentors. Those relationships can help them refine design concepts, build autonomy, or raise funding.

GoAERO earlier this month, for example, signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA that will see the space agency lend its personnel to the initiative. NASA also committed $400,000 through its University Innovation Project to support U.S.-based university teams and will grant access to free or discounted software, services, and products.

“I think GoAERO represents bringing the best of aeronautics and aviation to the public space, to public good, making sure that we are bringing our capabilities, our technologies, our genius together to work for the American people and for the people across the globe that need these kind of services,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and GoAERO mentor.

The Fly-Off

The GoAERO competition will culminate in a three-day “fly-off” beginning February 2027, during which teams will put their aircraft through a series of missions to gauge adversity, productivity, and maneuverability.

At stake are $2 million worth of prizes, including a $1 million grand prize for the winner. In addition, the top performer in each of the three fly-off missions will win $150,000. A $100,000 RTX Disruptor Award will be handed out for “disruptive advancement of the state of the art,” while a $100,000 autonomy prize will highlight the best use of automation.

All missions will be flown in a single-occupant aircraft carrying a mannequin, “Alex,” or other nonhuman payload. The contest will evaluate a range of different scenarios, testing competitors’ ability to save an injured person from under a forest canopy, douse a wildfire, rescue a drowning victim, and complete other emergency missions.

All of these must be performed under difficult conditions such as inclement weather, unknown terrain, or uncooperative air traffic control. Competitors will not have access to the mission courses or locations of obstacles until the day of the event. In addition, they should “expect the unexpected”—mission conditions and elements may not be exactly as advertised.

The FAA helped write the technical rules of the competition and will mentor teams to ensure their aircraft comply with federal rules. The agency will be “deeply involved” in the fly-off to maintain safety.

“We are closely working with the FAA in a number of their departments, and we have fully integrated our programming into today’s FAA certification process, and we will be helping our teams through that,” Lighter said.

During the contest, teams will have to dodge pylons and walls and contend with less-than-ideal takeoff and landing conditions. “The Flood” site, for example, is an 18-inch deep pool with simulated rain conditions—teams must touch or pop a balloon floating on its surface. Other locations will feature inclined slopes, sandy pits, or heavy winds.

A panel of expert judges will rank attempts by completion, speed, and payload, with bonus points awarded for one-person crew operations, quick deployment, and few operator inputs. To be eligible for the grand prize, a team needs to complete two missions, or complete one and partially complete another.

What Happens After?

Lighter emphasized that GoAERO hopes to produce not just emergency response flyers, but an ecosystem around them.

“We’re building this ecosystem so it’s not one company, it’s not one university, it’s not one entrepreneur, it’s not one regulator, it’s everybody coming together to use transformative technology to save lives,” she said.

At the end of the fly-off, the winning teams will have full control over what happens next. They will retain all intellectual property rights and do not necessarily need to commercialize their technology with a partner.

But while there are zero post-competition requirements, GoAERO aims to set teams up for success. Partners such as Boeing and RTX will be present for the fly-off, and winners will then have the option to meet with them and start a partnership.

“What we want to do is enable our teams to make the best choices for themselves at the end of the competition, whether that is licensing technology, whether that is building on their own, whether that is raising funds to commercialize, whether that is joining with a strategic partner—all are open and options for each of our teams,” Lighter said. “We certainly would never dictate to our teams how they should deploy. Rather, we will create the conditions where they have multiple options to be able to commercialize should they wish to do so.”

She added: “We all came together because we realized that there’s been a convergence of breakthrough technologies in aviation and in adjacent industries, and we now have this first moment in history that we have the ability to create new forms of emergency response aircraft.”

How to Get Involved

The deadline for GoAERO’s initial paper submission phase is December 11, which means there is plenty of time to apply.

To do so, applicants can visit goaeroprize.com to find the Stage 1 application forms, which include short biographies of each team member and legal documents covering liability and insurance, for example. Application is free, but there is a design submission fee of $250 for individuals and $500 for teams.

“Everything is on the website, from the technical rules to the schedules to the webinars to who the advisors are and who the partners are to how to engage with us,” said Lighter.

GoAERO excludes applicants under the age of 18, employees of Boeing or RTX and their families, and citizens or residents of countries subject to U.S. sanctions or export controls. But all others may apply, and the competition already includes teams from 40 countries. Entities that would prefer not to form a team but are interested in a partnership can also contact GoAERO.

Ten $10,000 winners will be selected from the Stage 1 pool, and eight Stage 2 teams will win $40,000 each. But teams can enter the competition at any time, including during the final fly-off. For that last phase, participants will need an aircraft with registration and airworthiness certification that has demonstrated, via video evidence, controlled flight with a full payload.

The stage is set. The rules are clear. All interested parties need to do is join the competition.

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The equipment used by the Canadian Airborne Sensor for Search and Rescue (CASSAR) system detects the cell tower interrogation signals emitted by cell phones. The system has been installed in CC-130H aircraft that are dedicated to search and rescue response.

According to a summary released by Canada’s Department of National Defense, the system “essentially mimics a cell phone tower to capture location and other information from an operating cell phone.” Conversations cannot be monitored. Phones have to be on, with a live battery and not on airplane mode, and once detected it’s easy to home in and find the phone.

The gear has been available for several years, but the department did an exhaustive analysis of the privacy concerns that naturally arise from this kind of surveillance ability. Any operating cell phone can be tracked by the system from the air and that prompted a Privacy Impact Assessment under the country’s Privacy Act.

“Based on the results of the PIA, privacy risks arising from the collection, use, disclosure, and retention of personal information using the CASSAR system are expected to be low,” the report said.

In exchange, the system will save lives, say military commanders.

“With such a vast area [as Canada], an enabling technology like the CASSAR system augments the existing search and rescue capability, reduces search time, and improves outcomes, a positive addition to search and rescue operations,” said Lieutenant-General Steve Boivin of Canadian Joint Operations Command.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.

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The NOTAM was issued to protect aircraft performing painstaking salvage and rescue missions in the area, which could be hindered by other aircraft. The U.S. Coast Guard said it deployed boats and a helicopter to the site. Several emergency helicopters are visible on Flightradar24. These aircraft are typically equipped with forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensors and other cameras to search for victims.

No injuries or deaths have yet been reported by authorities, though first responders have described the situation as a “mass casualty multiagency incident.” Crews are reportedly searching for six people. The water where the bridge was struck is about 50 feet deep and 47 degrees Fahrenheit, complicating rescue efforts.

The FAA issued a specific warning to drone pilots in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“The FAA has flight restrictions in place around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse,” the agency said. “Do not interfere with rescue operations. If you fly, emergency response operations cannot.”

Aircraft flying in the airspace around the bridge—even small drones—could compromise the safety of emergency aircraft. Entering the TFR would be akin to driving around a barricade intended to shield firefighters extinguishing a blaze.

The restriction limits pilots from flying within 5 nm and below 2,000 feet above the surface over the site of the incident. The TFR is under the Class B shelf, which has a floor of 1,500 feet—pilots avoid this airspace by flying below it. Essentially, the TFR prevents pilots from transitioning straight to Baltimore/Washington International Airport (KBWI) and flying up the Patapsco River.

Around 1:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday morning, a Singapore-flagged ship called the Dali collided with Francis Scott Key Bridge. The vessel was chartered by shipping giant Maersk but managed by the Synergy Group, which said no casualties occurred on board. The ship was carrying around 4,900 containers and traveling at about 9 mph (8 knots).

The Dali’s crew notified authorities of a power issue and sent a mayday before the collision, according to Maryland Governor Wes Moore.

The bridge crosses the Patapsco River and was part of Interstate 695, a major commuting route used by an estimated 35,000 people daily, said Paul Wiedefeld, Maryland Transportation Secretary. It and the Port of Baltimore comprise a key U.S. shipping hub.

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Lift Aircraft, the manufacturer of a funky, single-seat electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) design called Hexa, on Thursday announced that the aircraft is now on sale to fire departments, police departments, medical providers, and other public safety agencies.

Hexa has been in development for six years, and it’s finally ready to hit the market. The eVTOL was designed for “anyone” to get flying in a fraction of the time it would take to obtain a pilot’s certificate. But while the aircraft will eventually be marketed for personal use, law enforcement agencies and first responders will get the first crack at it.

Only five aircraft are being allocated to public agency partners, who can opt in with a refundable deposit before year’s end to reserve their delivery. Buyers can also take a trip out to Lift’s training facility near Austin, Texas, where a team will teach new pilots the ropes and talk through optimal use cases.

Lift customers will be able to fly Hexa for firefighting, police, medical, search and rescue, emergency, and disaster response applications under FAA public aircraft operations rules. And since it qualifies as a Part 103 ultralight, no pilot certification is needed to operate it. Beginner training on the aircraft’s control system—which consists of a single, three-axis joystick—can wrap up in less than an hour, the company claims.

Journalist Anderson Cooper and others with zero or minimal flight experience have already taken Hexa to the skies. FLYING got the chance to try out a simulator at UP.Summit in Dallas in October—the experience was akin to a virtual reality video game.

The Specs

Hexa’s pinwheel-shaped design uses distributed electric propulsion from 18 independent 126-kilowatt electric motors and propellers, each with its own battery pack. A redundant autopilot computer and the joystick control flight, but users can also switch to what Lift playfully calls “Look, mom, no hands!” mode. The aircraft can fly and land safely—even on water—with up to six motors disabled. Its airframe is built entirely of carbon fiber.

Weighing just 432 pounds, Hexa qualifies for the FAA’s powered ultralight classification, allowing it to be flown without a license. The eVTOL’s ultralight qualification was confirmed by the Light Aircraft Manufacturers Association (LAMA) in 2022.

The 15-by-15-foot aircraft folds down to about 9.5 by 7.5 feet, but it can carry up to 250 pounds (or up to 350 pounds in cargo configuration). Endurance (10 to 17 minutes) and range (8 to 15 sm) depend on payload. It cruises at around 60 knots at up to 9,000 MSL and can even fly in 20-knot winds, medium rain, and temperatures between 0 and 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Versatility is the key here: Lift says Hexa’s unique features can benefit a plethora of different customers. Firefighters could douse blazes in hard to reach places. Disaster response teams could drop or extract personnel or supplies in places where helicopters can’t land. Emergency medical services could deploy air ambulances that arrive 80 percent faster. Even the U.S. Coast Guard could find some value, bringing Hexa in for a water landing to make an offshore rescue.

For those public safety agencies wary of deploying such a strange, unfamiliar aircraft, it may be reassuring to hear that Lift has already completed a pre-operational flight and safety test program. 

Oh, and it’s also been researched, developed, and tested over the course of five contracts with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force. That relationship began with an initial agreement in 2020 and blossomed into a Phase 3 contract, which has allowed Lift to train Air Force pilots on Hexa’s simple controls. Last year, airmen made their first remote flight at Eglin Air Force Base’s Duke Field (KEGI) in Florida.

But Air Force pilots and public agencies won’t be the only Hexa customers, Lift says. Eventually, the company claims, people will be able to walk into a Lift vertiport, train for less than an hour, and leave in an eVTOL flying solo—even in places like New York City.

Last year, Lift signed a tentative agreement with the Big Apple’s Charm Aviation, one of the East Coast’s largest helicopter tour operators, to bring Hexa to downtown Manhattan. FAA rules limit flights to uncongested flyover areas and uncontrolled airspace. But the company plans to dot the city’s waterfront with vertiports, providing access to a Class G VFR corridor that extends up to 1,300 feet.

Lift also intends to partner with the Warren Buffett-backed Marubeni Corporation to commercialize Hexa in Japan. The aircraft has already made public demonstrations in the country, and Marubeni could preorder as many as 100 of them.

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First reported by Reuters, India’s order for 31 MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones from the U.S. government is on the precipice of going through after India’s defense ministry approved it. The deal was initially brokered for 22 SeaGuardian aircraft all the way back in 2017 but has stalled for years.

According to General Atomics, use cases for the MQ-9B, also known as the Reaper, range from disaster relief and search and rescue to anti-submarine warfare and long-range surveillance, intelligence, and reconnaissance.

The sale of MQ-9B drones, manufactured by defense contractor General Atomics, will net the U.S. government just more than $3 billion. But the move has larger geopolitical implications, potentially serving to ward off China’s growing military or reduce India’s reliance on Russian drone technology. The U.S. in recent months has been working to strengthen its defense ties with India.

Per The Times of India, the defense ministry’s Defense Acquisition Council submitted an initial “acceptance of necessity” for the deal, the first major step toward pushing it through. Now, it awaits clearance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, which is expected to be announced next week when Modi meets with President Joe Biden.

Since November 2020—around the time the deal was supposed to have been approved—the Indian Air Force has been operating two leased SeaGuardian drones, capable of flying more than 30 hours at an altitude of more than 40,000 feet. So far, they’ve logged thousands of flight hours conducting surveillance along the Indian coastline.

Still, a final purchase agreement between the two sides has yet to come to fruition. In February 2022, conflicting reports conversely characterized the deal as on hold or in advanced stages as it awaited approval from India’s defense ministry. But if recent reports are accurate, it seems the latter outlook was the correct one.

India’s SeaGuardian order, if approved, appears to be the largest purchase of MQ-9B aircraft, which also exist in a SkyGuardian variant. Publicized deals have typically consisted of a handful of SeaGuardian deliveries—only a few have included more than 10. The drone is operated by several U.S. allies, such as the U.K. and Belgium.

It’s worth noting, though, the deal will not be final until Modi’s cabinet submits a formal “letter of request” to initiate the sale. Previous reports have also suggested the final number of MQ-9B aircraft to be delivered may be revised down.

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The aircraft in question, Swiss eVTOL manufacturer Dufour Aerospace’s Aero2, has been in development for years and is now entering its final prototype phase, the firm announced Thursday.

It’s a huge milestone for Dufour. Designed to enable flight testing and certification before the autonomous Aero2 enters serial production in 2025, the fourth and final prototype, X2.3, is just about ready to be built. Slated to begin testing in early 2024, X2.3 will bring Dufour closer to European Union Aviation and Safety Agency (EASA) design approval.

The announcement follows Dufour’s historic deal with Spright—a subsidiary of helicopter services firm Air Methods—for the purchase of up to 140 Aero2 aircraft, one of the largest civilian drone purchases to date.

More recently, the company secured a Series B funding raise led by Vista Global, one of the world’s leading private aviation groups. It also earned a $2.8 million grant from Innosuisse, the innovation agency of the Swiss Confederation, the most it was eligible to receive.

Aero2’s unique, tilt-wing design gives it the vertical lift capabilities of a helicopter with the cruise speed of a winged plane. The key differences between X2.3 and Dufour’s previous prototype—which has flown successfully at the firm’s airfield in Dübendorf, Switzerland—are an improved maximum takeoff weight (around 459 pounds) and the addition of hybrid-electric propulsion through a frame contract with Suter Industries.

And while the latest prototype is projected to have a slightly slower cruise speed (81 knots versus 92 knots in earlier iterations), Dufour will give it more ground clearance and a larger fuselage and wingspan. Other changes include a new front-loading mechanism, the replacement of a conventional tail with a more stable H-tail configuration, and swapping ducted fans for a rear propeller.

“Aero2 is able to transport 88 [pounds] over a distance of 215 nm. The structure and systems have to be safe and aerodynamically efficient, and delivering this is not an easy task,” said Simon Bendrey, Dufour’s head of design. “I’m especially proud of the hard work of our teams to lock in a design that will meet or exceed our customers’ stringent requirements.”

Aero2’s specifications—which also include redundant motors and control surfaces as well as a flight time of three hours in standard configuration—make it a good fit for multiple operations, hence the “Swiss Army knife” moniker. 

Dufour envisions it being used to deliver critical cargo, such as blood and vaccines, conduct remote sensing and data gathering (including beyond the visual line of sight), and enable public safety operations from search and rescue to wildfire prevention to border monitoring.

Now, the company is acquiring the materials needed to build the X.23 design, which will align with EASA’s Specific Assurance and Integrity Level IV (SAIL IV) standards. The agency has yet to fully define the requirements and means of compliance for that approval, which would enable operations over populated areas. But as soon as it does, Dufour plans to apply for it.

“Dufour Aerospace is working hard to develop the Aero2, and we have full confidence in their ability to deliver their innovative product,” said Joseph Resnik, president and CEO of Spright. “We’ve worked closely with the team at Dufour for more than one year now and are pleased with the progress being made. In close contact with our existing and prospective customers, we see a huge potential for this aircraft for numerous applications.”

In addition to the Spright deal, Dufour agreed to a long-term contract with Blueberry Aviation that will see the commercial aircraft and helicopter specialist purchase 100 Aero2 drones. The agreement also calls for Blueberry to acquire 100 Aero3 aircraft—a larger, piloted model that Dufour expects will become its flagship product.

Aero3 will maintain the tilt-wing and hybrid-electric propulsion components of Aero2 and is expected to handle a similar range of operations. The difference is it will hold up to eight passengers and fly farther, faster, and more efficiently than its predecessor, capable of carrying a useful load of 1,650 pounds.

Dufour is working to certify Aero3 by late 2025, about a year after Aero2 is expected to be approved. Worth noting, though, is the firm initially anticipated serial production of Aero2 to begin this year—that date has now been pushed back.

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The Grand Caravan, the fourth in Cessna’s Caravan series, entered the market in 1990. Known in the aviation world as “the flying Swiss army knife” because of its versatility, the Grand Caravan can be outfitted for varying missions, including surveillance, cargo hauling, and passenger transport. The EX model has a larger cabin, seating up to 14 people, including the pilot.

“The Grand Caravan EX delivered to the Belize Ministry of National Defense and Border Security will be used as a multi-mission platform for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), search and rescue (SAR), air mobility, light air drop, and other operations as necessary,” said Bob Gibbs, vice president, Special Mission Sales. “This is the first Caravan EX in the service of the Belize Ministry of National Defense and Border Security.”

According to Textron, this particular Grand Caravan EX is fitted with an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, operator mission console, tactical radios, and data link. Textron Aviation will provide pilot, mission operator, and maintenance training, as well as an in-country field service representative.

The Foreign Military Sale (FMS) contract was executed by the U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Alabama. 

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The trials included demonstrating an increase in engine power and raising the main gearbox torque rating. The gearbox is responsible for lowering an engine’s high input speeds and transferring the appropriate torque to a helicopter’s rotors and some engine accessories.

“The testing ran to plan from day one, an astounding success for the teams in Colorado and Yeovil, and a phenomenal execution by all who made it happen,” said Kristian Daines, the AW101 Performance Improvement Program manager for Leonardo Helicopters’ U.K. division.

Leonardo said a cross-departmental team was able to complete a 21-day trial plan in the U.S. in just 16 days. The team of pilots and engineers did the tests to expand the high-altitude capabilities of the AW101 in Colorado at Buena Vista and Leadville, which sits nearly two miles above sea level (9,933 feet msl at the airport, KLXV). There, the team tested the helicopter’s high-altitude takeoff and landing performance envelope, including recovery techniques in case of an engine failure.

Additionally, Leonardo said the AW101 Performance Improvement Program allowed the team to raise the main gear box (MGB) torque rating to 117 percent. The test pilots and engineers had to demonstrate the expanded capabilities to members of the Italian Secretariat General of Defence and National Armaments Directorate.

• READ MORE: Best Helicopter Pilot Jobs in Colorado

To transport the helicopter to Colorado, Leonardo shipped it to Baltimore, Maryland, in parts, where its engineers put it together. Then, an aircrew that included test engineers and pilots flew the chopper 1,600 miles to Buena Vista.

“The aircraft’s inherent capability and equipment fit, coupled with superb work from the Field Service Representatives team (who put the helicopter together), meant the transit went exactly as planned,” said Nick Wharmby, test pilot at Leonardo Helicopters’ U.K. division.

Following the test, the manufacturer is shipping the helicopter, in parts, back to its facilities at Yeovil in the U.K. before delivering it to the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which has ordered 16 AW101 AWSAR helicopters.

According to Leonardo, the AW101 has a max gross weight of 34,390 pounds, and can transport up to 38 lightly equipped troops or 16 stretchers. In a different configuration, it can even carry quad bikes and tactical all-terrain vehicles (ATVs). Each AW101 is powered by a GE CT7-8e turboshaft powerplant with full authority digital engine control (FADEC).

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• aerial photography
• pipeline patrols
• search and rescue
• crop spraying
• wildfire spotting

The fuel efficiency of LSAs is a major factor in these types of aircraft now being used worldwide for many aerial work applications. However, in the United States, LSAs currently are severely limited in what “aerial work” they can do, with the only “for hire” uses of an LSA today being: 

• flight instruction
• aircraft rental
• towing of a hang glider, but not banner towing

For many years, LAMA has been working with Jonathan Scott, a senior research fellow at École des Ponts Business School to lobby the FAA to include these uses in the MOSAIC rewrite. LAMA, USUA, and Scott have also been working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other entities performing testing and data collection to prove that LSAs make sense for aerial work on many levels. As part of that work, a 2014 survey revealed that in other countries, the list of allowable types of aerial work an LSA-type airplane can perform is very long.

As we approach the release of the ongoing FAA MOSAIC regulatory rewrite, many in the LSA industry are hopeful that the case made by LAMA, USUA, and Scott will lead to a much broader list of allowable aerial work applications for LSAs in the U.S.

“One aspect of our testing confirmed that an LSA at a height of 4,500 feet agl can map 30,000 acres in about an hour,” Scott said, “while a drone would need four to six weeks to cover the same area because, by law, drones can only ascend to 400 feet. This means LSAs have the ability to do more with less if the right aircraft is matched with the right job. And from the testing we’ve been doing, we now know that LSAs can do aerial observation and imaging very well.”

Although Scott is the “driving force” behind the testing of LSAs for aerial work in the U.S., his entry into this field came almost by chance. 

“In 2017, while I was attending ground school, I came across an article written by a researcher at the USDA which highlighted their aerial-imaging program and mentioned off-hand that USDA-ARS uses six-seater aircraft to carry 10-pound cameras,” Scott explained. “So I sent the researcher an email asking why USDA was paying hourly fuel costs of over $125 [the cost of 100LL avgas at the time] when they could probably do the same job using LSAs that consume only $15 of fuel per hour. He immediately invited me to the USDA research facility in Texas and asked me to bring an LSA for testing. This was before COVID hit, so we had to wait a year, but eventually I arranged to have three different LSAs show up for testing.”

Scott’s everyday work involves eliminating waste, reducing resource use, and lowering costs in work and production processes. While visiting USDA-ARS, one of the technicians explained that most of the aircraft they use are given to them by Homeland Security (i.e., drug confiscations). The technician said that the repair, maintenance, and operation costs associated with these ‘free’ aircraft often exceeded the research center’s budget, so none of the four aircraft in the hangar were usable at the time.

When larger aircraft are replaced with LSAs, the economics are hard to dispute, Scott said. “Wildfire detection is a great example of these economics. If the state of Florida replaced its present-day wildfire-detection fleet of seventeen Cessna 172s with LSAs, the fuel savings alone would amount to over $1,000 per hour and emissions could be cut by more than two-thirds. 

“Keep in mind this doesn’t take into account all the other financial savings involved, which means Florida could probably increase the size of its wildfire detection fleet by 50 percent using LSAs and still end up paying fewer day-to-day costs than it does now.”

One of the many concepts Scott and USDA have testing is “bridging,” where two or more technologies are combined to enhance their capabilities. “In this case, we replace traditional aerial photography cameras with drones. The idea is to securely strap a small drone to an LSA thereby eliminating the height, weight, and distance limitations of the drone while enabling the LSA to transmit a live video feed to a ground crew. This is a real game-changer, especially if thermal cameras are entered into the mix because by combining a drone with an LSA, you end up with an affordable, and improved, aerial platform as well as two aircraft that can be separated and used for different applications,” Scott said.

The 2016 white paper listed the types of aerial work uses LSAs are currently performing around the world. In Germany for instance, “ultralights” (similar in fuel efficiency to our LSAs) are used for crop spraying and surveillance, herd management, inspections of pipelines, power lines, and wind turbines, aerial photography, and towing of gliders and advertising banners. In Australia and New Zealand, LSAs are being used for many of those same applications, and also shark patrols and aerial seeding.

In the work advocating to the FAA for broader allowable uses of LSAs for aerial work, it was imperative that the distinction between “aerial work” and “commercial uses” be made. “No hauling of passengers or cargo is envisioned, and flight over areas of dense population is not requested. Night and IFR operations are also not contemplated. Aerial work performed in LSAs is not expected to exceed any operation parameters of such aircraft accepted as compliant with ASTM standards,” the paper said.

While the nuts and bolts of the final MOSAIC rewrite remain a mystery, many involved in the U.S. light sport industry are hopeful that the FAA opens up this efficient part of general aviation to more aerial work applications. If that happens, it could be a win for all involved, saving operators money while opening the door for more LSA sales and a new wave of job openings for pilots and ground crews.

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